Learn Hardcore Russian: Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета, потому что ищут проездной в сумке. - Sometimes people get held up at the turnstile because they are looking for their pass in a bag.

Задерживаться / задержаться (with -ся) = “to be delayed, to linger, to stay longer than expected.”
- люди задерживаются = “people get delayed / linger”
Задерживать / задержать (without -ся) = “to delay someone/something.”
- они задерживают поезд = “they delay the train”

In the sentence, the people are not delaying something else; they themselves are the ones getting delayed or lingering at the turnstile, so the reflexive form задерживаются is correct.

What is the function of иногда, and can it go somewhere else in the sentence?

Иногда means “sometimes” and is an adverb of frequency.

In Russian, it’s fairly flexible in position:

Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета… – neutral, common order; puts light emphasis on the time/frequency.
Люди иногда задерживаются у турникета… – focuses more on people as the topic, then mentions that this sometimes happens.

Both are correct; word order mostly affects emphasis and rhythm, not basic meaning. You wouldn’t normally put иногда at the very end (…у турникета иногда), except in special expressive contexts.

What does у in у турникета mean, and what case is турникета?

Here у means “at, by, near”.

у
- genitive case is used for “by/at/near”:
  - у двери – “by the door”
  - у окна – “by the window”
  - у турникета – “by/at the turnstile”

So турникета is genitive singular of турникет.

Don’t confuse this with у meaning “have” (e.g. у меня есть), which also uses the genitive but has a different structure and meaning. Here, it’s purely spatial: people linger *by the turnstile*.

Why is present tense used (люди задерживаются, ищут) when English might say “sometimes people get delayed / are looking”?

Russian uses the simple present tense for:

actions happening right now
habitual / repeated actions (where English may use “sometimes … get delayed / are looking / will look”)

So:

Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета…
= “Sometimes people (get) delayed at the turnstile…”
…потому что ищут проездной в сумке.
= “…because they are looking / look for their pass in their bag.”

There is no separate “present continuous” form in Russian; aspect and context cover that meaning.

Why is it потому что and not just потому or так как? And why is there a comma before it?

Потому что is a common conjunction meaning “because”.

потому что introduces a full clause:
- …задерживаются, потому что ищут проездной… – “…get delayed because (they) are looking for the pass…”

A comma is required because it joins two clauses:

Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета – main clause.
(они) ищут проездной в сумке – subordinate clause of reason.

Other options:

так как – also “because,” a bit more formal/neutral.
потому without что usually needs что or another completion: поэтому (“therefore”) is a different word.

Here, потому что is the most natural everyday choice.

What exactly is проездной? Is something left out?

Проездной here is short for проездной билет = “travel pass / transit pass”.

Literally, проездной is an adjective meaning “for travel/for riding (transport).”
In everyday speech, this adjective is often used as a noun by itself:
- проездной = “(a) travel pass”
- показать проездной – “to show (your) pass”

Grammatically:

Gender: masculine (by default when the adjective is substantivized like this).
Case here: accusative singular masculine inanimate – same form as nominative (проездной).

Why is it в сумке and not в сумку, из сумки, or на сумке?

The choice of preposition + case depends on the meaning:

в сумке = “in the bag” (location, inside something)
- в
  - prepositional case (сумке) = “in / inside”
в сумку = “into the bag” (movement into it)
- в
  - accusative (сумку) = direction
из сумки = “from the bag / out of the bag”
- из
  - genitive (сумки) = movement out/from
на сумке = “on the bag” (on the surface)
- на
  - prepositional

In this sentence, people are looking for the pass inside the bag, so в сумке (prepositional, location) is correct.

What is the verb ищут from, and why that form?

Ищут is 3rd person plural, present tense of the verb искать (“to look for, search for”).

Conjugation (present):

я ищу
ты ищешь
он/она/оно ищет
мы ищем
вы ищете
они ищут

Points to note:

Stem alternation: infinitive искать, but present ищ- (spelling/pronunciation shift).
Aspect: искать is imperfective, so ищут expresses an ongoing or repeated search (“are looking / look”).

So ищут проездной = “(they) are looking for the pass.”

Why isn’t there a word for “their” in ищут проездной в сумке?

Russian often omits possessive words like “my / your / their” when the owner is obvious from context.

Subject: люди – “people”
Action: ищут проездной в сумке – “(they) are looking for a pass in (a) bag”

It is naturally understood that they’re looking for their own pass in their own bag, so Russian doesn’t need to say свой.

You could say:

…потому что ищут свой проездной в своей сумке.

This is grammatically correct but sounds heavy and redundant here; native speakers would usually keep it as in the original sentence.

Could we say останавливаются instead of задерживаются? What is the nuance?

Both are possible but not identical in nuance:

останавливаться = “to stop (moving), come to a stop”
- люди останавливаются у турникета – people stop at the turnstile (neutral, just “they come to a stop there”).
задерживаться = “to be delayed, linger, stay longer than normal”
- люди задерживаются у турникета – they don’t just stop; they spend extra time there, causing a delay (for themselves or others).

In contexts like queues, metro gates, etc., задерживаться better conveys the idea that they are holding things up while they search for something.

Why is люди (plural) used, instead of a singular form like “a person” or “one”?

Russian frequently uses the plural to talk about people in general:

Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета…
= “Sometimes people get delayed at the turnstile…” (general statement)

Using singular:

Иногда человек задерживается у турникета… – grammatically possible but sounds more like you’re talking about an individual case, not a general pattern.

To express a generic “one / you” idea, Russian usually prefers:

люди (people)
когда кто-то… (when someone…)
если человек… (if a person…)

Here, люди is the most natural way to express a general, typical situation.

Are there other natural word orders for the whole sentence, and do they change the meaning?

Yes, Russian word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatical:

Иногда люди задерживаются у турникета, потому что ищут проездной в сумке.
– Neutral; slight emphasis on иногда (frequency).
Люди иногда задерживаются у турникета, потому что ищут проездной в сумке.
– Topic starts with people; иногда becomes a parenthetical “sometimes.”
У турникета люди иногда задерживаются, потому что ищут проездной в сумке.
– Emphasis on place (“At the turnstile, people sometimes get delayed…”).

All keep the same basic meaning; the differences are in what is highlighted first (time, people, or place).

How are задерживаются and ищут pronounced, and where is the stress?

задерживаются: заде́ржи-ва-ют-ся
- Stress on the second syllable: заде́рживаются
- Roughly: za-DÉR-zhi-va-yut-sya
ищут: и́-щут
- Stress on the first syllable: и́щут
- The щ is one consonant, pronounced like a long “shch” sound; roughly: EE-shchut

Correct stress is important; misplaced stress can make the word sound strange or be misunderstood.